African American Tobacco Companies Research Paper

Lionel Derousseau Jr.

Mrs. Melancon

English IV

1 May 2018

Business

Why do tobacco companies heavily advertise their products in black communities. The tobacco industry has a long history of going to great lengths to target the African American community. Decades of research affirms patterns of strategic marketing to African Americans through marketing, price discounts, branding, and traditional advertising, particularly for mentholated tobacco products and cheap little cigars and cigarillos. As a result of market research, the cigarette companies know that most African American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes and they exploit this preference in their marketing efforts to African Americans, in general, and to African American kids, in particular,

Research shows that tobacco company advertising and other marketing efforts greatly influence tobacco use initiation among youth nonsmokers and is associated with increased tobacco consumption among youth who have already become regular smokers. Nearly 80 percent of all smokers start before the age of 18 and the vast majority of kids smoke the three most heavily advertised brands. One of the most heavily advertised brands is Newport which is the most popular among African American youth. More than two thirds of African American youth smokers prefer Newport cigarettes.

For decades tobacco companies have specifically targeted minority communities particularly African Americans with intense advertising and promotional efforts. A wealth of research indicates that African American neighborhoods have a extreme number of tobacco retailers pervasive tobacco marketing and in particular more marketing of menthol products. Like many minority and low income neighborhoods African American neighborhoods tend to have more tobacco